I saw a topic on this test a while back, but it seems inactive as of now, so I decided to repost it. Something missing from that topic, and others like it, is an explanation of ideologies. That is to say that a simple image cannot capture your ideology, nor the thought process behind answering each question, especially considering that many are ambiguous and we may interpret them differently.

So the goal of this topic will be not only to show our end results on the political compass test, but to list and explain your answers. Indeed, it may take a while to do that -- and hence this may crash and burn -- but I'm going to hopefully get the ball rolling by posting my answers as soon as I finish.

Looking forward to an interest array of ideologies.

~JohnMaynardKeynes

~JohnMaynardKeynes

"The sight of my succulent backside acts as a sedative for the beholder. It soothes the pain of life and makes all which hurts seem like bliss. I urge all those stressed by ridiculous drama on DDO which will never affect your real life to gaze upon my cheeks for they will make you have an excitement and joy you've never felt before." -- Dr. Dennybug

Founder of the BSH-YYW Fan Club
Founder of the Barkalotti
Stand with Dogs and Economics

1. If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.

-Disagree; Ideally globalization would serve humanity, but in many cases, self-interest simply does not serve this end. Suggesting that globalization ought to serve humanity is also implicitly advocating tariffs and trade restrictions, which though well-intended, are counter-intuitive.

2. I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.

-Strongly Disagree; though it is plausible to say that one can support his or her country without endorsing every policy in place -- e.g., tax cuts -- I cannot willingly say that I will support my country no matter what. If I lived in Germany in the 1940s, for instance, it would've been virtually impossible for me to have supported my country.

3. No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.

-Disagree; I don't have strong feelings on this one necessarily, but I think it is fair to be proud of something even if it is outside of your own control. I could be proud of an attribute I possess, for instance, even though it was biologically ingrained in me.

4. Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.

-Strongly Disagree; for me, this one was a given. Part and parcel of racial equality is admitting to the indisputable fact that there are no inherent differences in races -- but only in racial stereotypes, most of which are highly destructive.

5. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

-Strongly Disagree; the best illustration of this was arming in the contras in the 80s, or arming the Syrian rebels today -- though, indeed, some of them have been vetted, many are associated with Al Qaeda, so the notion that the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" is quite short-sighted.

6. Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

-Strongly Disagree; I understand the logic behind getting Bin Laden, but the unintended consequences of not consulting with the government of Pakistan simply have caused and will continue to cause problems down the road.

7. There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment.

-Strongly Agree; I'm not too interested in what Kanye West and Samuel L. Jackson think about politics, thank you very much.

8. People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

-Strongly Agree, and this has been even exacerbated by the out-of-control wealth gap, manifesting itself in the disparity of CEO-to-average-worker pay, which moved from 42 times in 1981 to 380 times today.

9. Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

-Strongly Disagree; this is essentially a statement in reference to monetary tapering vs. monetary stimulus, and I honestly think that we can take on a few more points of inflation if it's needed to get us out of the current slump.

10. Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.

-Strongly Agree; I don't think I could agree more on this one, and I would extend this much further than a simple carbon tax or fuel efficiency standards.

11. "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea.

--Strongly Agree; Yes, I know, Karl Marx is the one who popularized this phrase, but I see this as nothing more than an argument for progressive taxation and a safety net, which I strongly support on both economic and moral grounds.

12. It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.

-Strongly Disagree; I'm no fan of bottled water, to be perfectly honest, but the principle of the commoditization of bottled water -- or of anything, really -- doesn't much bug me, as that's an inevitable consequence of a capitalist system, which is by and large preferable to all available alternatives.

13. Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.

-Strongly Disagree; this seems like a more radical spin on the last question, suggesting this time that all private land ownership should be in essence abolished. Again, I support free enterprise, so I think this view is wildly outlandish and off-the-mark.

14. It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.

-Strongly Agree; this question is a bit ambiguous since we need to pin down the meaning of "manipulating money." I see that in reference to private bankers who increase the monetary supply through fractional reserve banking, which has it faults, but I still largely support. Now, is it fair to say that bankers who make their fortunes in this way ultimately contribute nothing to society, and thus it is regrettable that they earn their fortunes purely in this way? Absolutely. If "manipulating money" is referring to campaign contributions to politicians, I agree even more strongly.

15. Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

-Strongly Disagree; Perhaps I should have chosen "Disagree" since I would support raising tariffs on China -- or would have a few years ago before its economy went into peril -- but I think protectionism by itself is largely destructive and there are other, better ways to address the threat of wage depression and outsourcing than regressive tariffs and trade quotas.

16. The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.

-Strongly Disagree; I completely disagree with this, as I believe the primary responsibility of corporations is not simply to make a profit, but to improve society -- the greatest good for the greatest number -- and corporations have a responsibility not only to their shareholders, but to their stakeholders.

17. The rich are too highly taxed.

-Strongly Disagree; the problem, actually, is that the rich aren't nearly taxed enough, which is why we've seen revenue as a percentage of GDP at lower levels than it's been historically.

18. Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .

-Strongly Disagree; ultimately, I believe in a single-payer system, where anyone regardless of income can access affordable, high quality care.

19. Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.

-Strongly Agree; it depends largely on the definition of "mislead," but I do think that there should be strict penalties for false advertising.

20. A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies.

-Strongly Agree; I couldn't agree more on this one, actually. How can you possibly hope to have a free market, based on competition and self-interest, is a few companies can simply consume the vast majority of market share?

21. The freer the market, the freer the people.

-Strongly Disagree; I don't think people are free when large corporations are free to pollute as much as they want because the market says it's affordable. I don't think people are freer when they can't access health insurance because they have a preexisting condition and the market says that it isn't affordable to insure them. Ultimately, profit ought not take precedence over people, which is why the government needs to intervene in sectors of the economy such as health care.

Almost out of characters, so I'll finish the rest later.

~JohnMaynardKeynes

"The sight of my succulent backside acts as a sedative for the beholder. It soothes the pain of life and makes all which hurts seem like bliss. I urge all those stressed by ridiculous drama on DDO which will never affect your real life to gaze upon my cheeks for they will make you have an excitement and joy you've never felt before." -- Dr. Dennybug

Founder of the BSH-YYW Fan Club
Founder of the Barkalotti
Stand with Dogs and Economics

Good work! If you're an American then you should be a Canadian because you would fit right in. My guess is that your politic views are not in tune with the majority in your country. I could be wrong on that though and it could be that many Americans are unable to understand the questions and then express the real truths. This would be due to political stigmatizing.

I only disagree with your answer to #15 where you express one ideal and then go on to express the instance of China where you would take the opposite position. It seems to me that each situation would call for a different answer in your opinion. Myself, I would recognize that protectionism could be necessary in certain circumstances where my own interests were at stake. Also recognizing that my country's choice in the matter could backfire on it. It would depend on each country's respective economic strengths.

At 3/13/2014 12:13:19 PM, monty1 wrote:Good work! If you're an American then you should be a Canadian because you would fit right in. My guess is that your politic views are not in tune with the majority in your country. I could be wrong on that though and it could be that many Americans are unable to understand the questions and then express the real truths. This would be due to political stigmatizing.

I only disagree with your answer to #15 where you express one ideal and then go on to express the instance of China where you would take the opposite position. It seems to me that each situation would call for a different answer in your opinion. Myself, I would recognize that protectionism could be necessary in certain circumstances where my own interests were at stake. Also recognizing that my country's choice in the matter could backfire on it. It would depend on each country's respective economic strengths.

Haha, well thanks! I am an American, and it does seem at times that I'm at odds with others around me (even so-called liberals, to be honest) who try to pin me as a socialist, or someone who "indiscriminately attacks corporations." The best example is the fact that I'm unwilling to support Hillary Clinton for president, while my fellow Democrats are ready for a coronation ceremony. Honestly, maybe I'm just extreme, because I feel similar about Elizabeth Warren.

You raise an interesting point about protectionism, and I do acknowledge that in some cases it could be preferable. I'm worried about answering in such a way that I treat it as though it's a go-to measure, rather than a last resort -- and I do see it largely as a last resort. But, at the same time, I wouldn't mind minor protectionism, which sounds peculiar, I suppose, but let's see if I can rationalize it. The TPP, for instance, is highly controversial because it's being negotiated behind closed doors and affects larger sectors of the economy than, say, NAFTA. I wouldn't mind agreeing to it in principle, but I think it would need to be passed in tandem with a strong safety net. At a time when the safety net has been severed significantly by sequester cuts et al., I would probably vote against the TPP.

~JohnMaynardKeynes

"The sight of my succulent backside acts as a sedative for the beholder. It soothes the pain of life and makes all which hurts seem like bliss. I urge all those stressed by ridiculous drama on DDO which will never affect your real life to gaze upon my cheeks for they will make you have an excitement and joy you've never felt before." -- Dr. Dennybug

Founder of the BSH-YYW Fan Club
Founder of the Barkalotti
Stand with Dogs and Economics

At 3/13/2014 12:13:19 PM, monty1 wrote:Good work! If you're an American then you should be a Canadian because you would fit right in. My guess is that your politic views are not in tune with the majority in your country. I could be wrong on that though and it could be that many Americans are unable to understand the questions and then express the real truths. This would be due to political stigmatizing.

I only disagree with your answer to #15 where you express one ideal and then go on to express the instance of China where you would take the opposite position. It seems to me that each situation would call for a different answer in your opinion. Myself, I would recognize that protectionism could be necessary in certain circumstances where my own interests were at stake. Also recognizing that my country's choice in the matter could backfire on it. It would depend on each country's respective economic strengths.

Haha, well thanks! I am an American, and it does seem at times that I'm at odds with others around me (even so-called liberals, to be honest) who try to pin me as a socialist, or someone who "indiscriminately attacks corporations." The best example is the fact that I'm unwilling to support Hillary Clinton for president, while my fellow Democrats are ready for a coronation ceremony. Honestly, maybe I'm just extreme, because I feel similar about Elizabeth Warren.

You raise an interesting point about protectionism, and I do acknowledge that in some cases it could be preferable. I'm worried about answering in such a way that I treat it as though it's a go-to measure, rather than a last resort -- and I do see it largely as a last resort. But, at the same time, I wouldn't mind minor protectionism, which sounds peculiar, I suppose, but let's see if I can rationalize it. The TPP, for instance, is highly controversial because it's being negotiated behind closed doors and affects larger sectors of the economy than, say, NAFTA. I wouldn't mind agreeing to it in principle, but I think it would need to be passed in tandem with a strong safety net. At a time when the safety net has been severed significantly by sequester cuts et al., I would probably vote against the TPP.

As a Canadian, this is not my issue and so you may wonder why I'm spending so much time on it. If you fear Hillary Clinton for the same reason I do you will perhaps know why I'm so interested. However, if we consider the possibility that Hillary could become merely a figurehead then the peril is not so urgent if Bill's pulling the strings. Bill understands just how hard he can push in my opinion. Under today's circumstances that's probably not very hard!

To simplify the question on protectionism. It's not hard to be in favour of it if your country could enforce it's wishes over other world econocies without successful attempts at payback. If not then it wouldn't pay to enact protectionist laws.

I'll watch for your name in future posts from now on. You're a breathe of fresh air in a sea of ignorance.

1. If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.

Disagree. Humanity is best served by allowing globalization to continue absent counterproductive restrictions.

2. I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.

Disagree. I am a patriot, but a patriot who is willing to call out his country when it is wrong.

3. No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.

Disagree. I'm proud of a lot of things about myself that are out of my control, being an American is one of those things.

4. Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.

Disagree. Not a big fan of arbitrarily dividing humans into "races". I prefer to look at people as individuals.

5. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Disagree. This is sometimes true, but not always.

6. Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Agree. Our well being comes before laws set by international organizations.

7. There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment.

Agree. I guess, but I think this is overblown.

8. People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

Disagree. I would say that rich Americans have more in common with poor Americans than they do with rich Chinese.

9. Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

Disagree. This question is poorly worded. But, I think a more aggressive monetary policy is justified as inflation is low and unemployment is high. Although, a predictable, rules based policy is extremely important.

10. Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.

Disagree. Many externalities can be solved absent government regulation. Also, the science behind many government regulations is extremely unsound and actually does more harm than good.

11. "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea.

Disagree (Strongly). I think it goes without saying that this phrase has caused millions of people to go without what they want or need. I say to from each what their skills command on a free market and to each the reward of those skills.

12. It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.

Disagree. I don't understand anti consumerism. It seems like an elitist movement based on semi marxist (illiterate) economics.

13. Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.

Disagree (Strongly). Property rights are the center piece of any well functioning economy.

14. It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.

Disagree. I disagree because this, by and large, is not true. Most rich people made significant contributions to the economy because they have rare skills that command high rewards. This is a good thing.

15. Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

Disagree. Free trade is a wonderful way to reduce poverty.

16. The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.

Agree. Corporations, in a free market, make profits by responding to consumer demand in an efficient way. That is a good thing.

17. The rich are too highly taxed.

Agree. Rich people pay too much in tax. Nobody should pay more than 25% of their income in taxes. Rich people pay more than that.

18. Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .Agree. Oddly worded question. But, even in single payer systems, rich people get higher quality health care. I believe in consumer based medicine where a free market exists in medicine. Yes, the rich can afford better treatment, but everyone would have better quality.

19. Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.

Agree. This is one area where government regulation is justified.

20. A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies.

Disagree. Most monopolies either exist because they simply provide good products at low prices or the government grants them special privileges. If the government is the cause, the government should get out of the way.

21. The freer the market, the freer the people.

Agree (Strongly). Free markets have been the greatest source of prosperity in the history of mankind. Everywhere we see free markets, we see freedom and prosperity.

Great! This helped me while taking the test a second time, I felt as though I didn't understand some of the questions the first (I'm currently in high school). Your cogent responses and logic allowed my understanding of at least part of the test. I would appreciate it greatly if you'd extend your arguments to the third page of questions. Thank you very much for this post!